One of the best investments we ever made :: a water table. |
My parenting journey has taken me through four smouldering hot South Louisiana summers with children underfoot.
And I'm still here to write about it.
Incredible, I know.
But the smouldering heat hasn't arrived yet this year. We still have about one more month of mild temperatures before the heat waves start rolling in.
So I'm taking advantage of it!
As soon as the first number in the temperature was above 6, I considered it pool-worthy. The boys have already broken in their little one ring pool that I got on end-of-summer clearance at K-Mart last year.
I owe hours of my sanity to that little blow-up pool...
I've also discovered that the dollar bin at Target is my best friend. A few simple items can create hours of fun for even the busiest of little boys. Our supply stash includes: gardening tools (read about our summer garden here), plastic cups (for pouring, building mud castles, etc.), and sponges (my boys love to pretend to clean things)!
A word to the wise about letting a preschooler use even the smallest of gardening shovels: an afternoon of unsupervised digging may result in foot-deep hole in your backyard!
Speaking of dirt (from the hole), boys love it. And dirt loves boys. And dirt don't hurt. So why prevent the inevitable, right?! Especially if it means I can get a little reading done while dirt castles come up.
Snack-y lunches are a MUST since dirty, hungry boys are not allowed in my house. Picnics will be our dining style of choice for as long as we can stand the heat.
Bubbles are always fun, but not when you drink them. Liam learned that lesson the hard way when Silas poured the bubbles into a soda bottle, confusing Liam into thinking they were good for drinking. A big swig sent him into three episodes of throwing up and a good half an hour of becoming a live bubble machine. Thankfully, we learned a good lesson in bubble safety and can look forward to better bubble experiences in the future.
Spring is notorious for bringing out the peskiest of bugs, but I'm armed and dangerous! Nothing is going to stop us from enjoying our time outside!
Of course, smiling always helps.
And so do silly faces.
And maybe if we try hard enough we can scare away the smouldering summer heat for just a little bit longer.
Maybe.
How do you take advantage of spring?